When humans talk with humans, they are able to use implicit situational information, or context, to increase the conversational bandwidth. Unfortunately, this ability to convey ideas does not transfer well to humans interacting with computers. In traditional interactive computing, users have an impoverished mechanism for providing input to computers. By improving the computer’s access to context, we increase the richness of communication in human-computer interaction and make it possible to produce more useful computational services. The use of context is increasingly important in the fields of handheld and ubiquitous computing, where the user?s context is changing rapidly. In this panel, we want to discuss some of the research challenges in understanding context and in developing context-aware applications.

https://www.cc.gatech.edu/fce/ctk/pubs/HUC99-panel.pdf

Towards a Better Understanding of Context and Context-Awareness

Ubiquitous computing is the method of enhancing computer use by making many computers available throughout the physical environment, but making them effectively invisible to the user. Since we started this work at Xerox PARC in 1988, a number of researchers around the world have begun to work in the ubiquitous computing framework. This paper explains what is new and different about the computer science in ubiquitous computing. It starts with a brief overview of ubiquitous computing, and then elaborates through a series of examples drawn from various subdisciplines of computer science: hardware components (e.g. chips), network protocols, interaction substrates (e.g. software for screens and pens), applications, privacy, and computational methods. Ubiquitous computing offers a framework for new and exciting research across the spectrum of computer science.

/pdf/some-computer-science-issues-in-ubiquitous-computing-59kpy3d30s.pdf

Some computer science issues in ubiquitous computing

Methods and systems for processing touch inputs are disclosed. The invention in one respect includes reading data from a multipoint sensing device such as a multipoint touch screen where the data pertains to touch input with respect to the multipoint sensing device, and identifying at least one multipoint gesture based on the data from the multipoint sensing device.

Gestures for touch sensitive input devices

In recent years, a wide variety of mobile computing devices has emerged, including portables, palmtops, and personal digital assistants. Providing adequate network connectivity for these devices will require a new generation of wireless LAN technology. In this paper we study media access protocols for a single channel wireless LAN being developed at Xerox Corporation's Palo Alto Research Center. We start with the MACA media access protocol first proposed by Karn [9] and later refined by Biba [3] which uses an RTS-CTS-DATA packet exchange and binary exponential back-off. Using packet-level simulations, we examine various performance and design issues in such protocols. Our analysis leads to a new protocol, MACAW, which uses an RTS-CTS-DS-DATA-ACK message exchange and includes a significantly different backoff algorithm.

/pdf/macaw-a-media-access-protocol-for-wireless-lan-s-xpti1g90i6.pdf

MACAW: a media access protocol for wireless LAN's

Configuration of the computing and communications systems found at home and in the workplace is a complex task that currently requires the attention of the user. Researchers have begun to examine computers that would autonomously change their functionality based on observations of who or what was around them. By determining their context, using input from sensor systems distributed throughout the environment, computing devices could personalize themselves to their current user, adapt their behaviour according to their location, or react to their surroundings. The authors present a novel sensor system, suitable for large-scale deployment in indoor environments, which allows the locations of people and equipment to be accurately determined. We also describe some of the context-aware applications that might make use of this fine-grained location information.

/pdf/a-new-location-technique-for-the-active-office-5bygv7mxxa.pdf

A new location technique for the active office

A method of producing a detection/test tape comprising: depositing a material onto a surface of at least one first substrate (74) to form a plurality of element structures (72); depositing electrodes (76) on a surface of each of the plurality of element structures (72); bonding the element structures to a second substrate (92,94), the second substrate being conductive or having a conductive layer and the second substrate being carried on a carrier plate; removing the at least one first substrate (74) from the element structures; depositing second side electrodes on a second surface of each of the plurality of element structures; bonding a second side of the element structures to another substrate, the other substrate being conductive or having a conductive layer; and removing the carrier plate.

Method of producing a detection/test tape

A method of forming and moving ink drops across a gap between a print head and a print medium, or intermediate print medium, in a marking device includes generating an electric field, forming the ink drops adjacent the print head and controlling the electric field. The electric field is generated to extend across the gap. The ink drops are formed in an area adjacent the print head. The electric field is controlled such that an electrical attraction force exerted on the formed ink drops by the electric field is the greatest force acting on the ink drops. The marking device may be incorporated into a transfuse printing system having an intermediate print medium made of one or more materials that allow for lateral dissipation of electrical charge from the incident ink drops.

Method and apparatus for moving ink drops using an electric field and transfuse printing system using the same

In a large area display system, multiple persons may work together with multiple input devices for supplying and receiving information in an interactive system with a single large area display. The large area display system comprises a screen (20) wherein computer generated information is projected upon one side of the screen, and users interact with the computer (29) from the opposite side of the the screen (20). Data coordinates for an input device corresponding to a pseudo image sensed by the receiving subsystem electronics are provided to the controlling computer (29). The input data coordinates from the pseudo image are normalized for variations due to frequency dependence and electronic drift. The normalized data coordinates are looked up in a calibration table to account for distortion in the pseudo image detection electronics. Screen coordinates corresponding to pixel locations on the large area screen (20) are found by interpolation from the data from the calibration table. The calibration table is prepared off-line, based on a bicubic spline interpolating function which is then compressed using a delta compression scheme. During on-line operation of the system, screen coordinates are looked-up directly from the compressed table. The screen coordinates are then jitter smoothed to provide a smooth path of response closely conforming to original input locations. The jitter smoothing method uses an exponential function based on the magnitude of the change in the position of the input.

Method for correction of position location indicator for a display system

Embodiments of the present invention provide a system and method for accurate, field-ready, non-destructive, and three-dimensional plant root characterization using acoustic signals. The system is portable, fast, precise, and can be used in field conditions, including moist soil, to visualize root structure or mass distribution, without damaging growing crops. The system may also be applied to characterize other underground objects, such as pipes, building foundations, archaeological artifacts, or mineral ores. During operation, the system generates a source acoustic signal. The system sends the source acoustic signal to an actuator acoustically coupled directly to a plant. The system obtains a response acoustic signal from an underground transducer monitoring a root of the plant. The system analyzes the response acoustic signal according to a model and based on the source acoustic signal. The system then determines, based on the analyzed response acoustic signal, a physical configuration of the plant root.

Method and system for in situ measurement of root biomass and structure using acoustic waves

A nanocalorimeter array for detecting chemical reactions includes at least one thermal isolation region residing on a substrate. Each thermal isolation region includes at least one thermal equilibration region, within which resides a thermal measurement device connected to detection electronics.

Scott A. Elrod

Papers

Method of producing a detection/test tape

Method and apparatus for moving ink drops using an electric field and transfuse printing system using the same

Method for correction of position location indicator for a display system

Method and system for in situ measurement of root biomass and structure using acoustic waves

Nanocalorimeter apparatus and method for detecting chemical reactions